Reddit reviews Nexus 70mm Real Silent Case Fan

I'd recommend this so you don't need to do anything special other than get zip ties to hold the fan down.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B003PNLRLU/ref=cm_cr_arp_mb_bdcrb_top?ie=UTF8

This is the fan I use completely silent and a direct drop in. Need some zip ties to secure the top of the fan to the cage though.

https://www.amazon.com/Nexus-70mm-Real-Silent-Case/dp/B003PNLRLU

Drop one of these in and crank it to about 70% fan speed. It can be slightly annoying to try and wiggle the old fan out but these drop right in without any type of case mod. I put these in every new Xbox I build.

I definitely recommend replacing the fan, it makes a big difference noise-wise.
This is about as close to a drop in replacement as you can get
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003PNLRLU/

Im swapping mine with this

Nexus 70mm Real Silent Case Fan https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003PNLRLU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_nQfqDb1NEXRT2

I can't comment on a fan with LEDs, but this fan fits and is super quiet: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003PNLRLU - see/hear it in action here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkiX-0qyWNY

LEDs for the case: a standard roll of 12v LEDs with adhesive on the back are an easy route to take. That's what I used here: https://i.imgur.com/ueHbo1V.jpg

Controller port LEDs: 5mm 5v LEDs are common. You can wire them into the 5v USB power that's available in each port and use a resistor to bring it down to the exact power you need. End result will be something like this: https://i.imgur.com/s4c1wrC.jpg https://i.imgur.com/V5k0brx.jpg

Something I've done a few times is use 3mm 3.3v bi-color LEDs, similar to what is used in the power/eject board and wire them up to the power/eject board's leads on the underside of the motherboard. This makes it so the controller port LED colors change with the power/eject ring, which looks awesome (https://i.imgur.com/Jdv0A8O.jpg). This doesn't always work though because not all motherboards provide enough power to the 3v line (especially for blue colored LEDs), so idk if I'd recommend this particular method because it's not possible on all motherboards. https://i.imgur.com/43u4GYF.jpg https://i.imgur.com/Z1q0nsV.jpg https://i.imgur.com/ecy40uS.jpg

this is the one i used Nexus 70mm It's swap in swap out. This fan is also 3 pin, yes. I think 70mm is the same as stock. I think you have start cutting the hdd tray if you go bigger.

​

The soldering is really a piece of cake if you have a small tip. It's a few short wires from point to point on the motherboard. I use a flux pen on everything.

The fan I ordered was this one:
Nexus 70mm Real Silent Case Fan https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003PNLRLU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_e.lUDbDH6VYY3

It's been working great for me and the only modification I made was using small zipties to attach the top two corners to the metal casing, aside from that it's plug and play.

As others have said, it really is easy even for a novice. You do need Torx T10/T15/T20 screw heads to open the Xbox though. The only mistake you can really make is removing the wrong cap, but there's plenty of images/videos to help with identifying the right one. Replacing the fan is also straightforward, you just have to be careful releasing the clips holding the fan in place. I recommend this fan as it fits without needing any case modification:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nexus-70mm-Real-Silent-Case/dp/B003PNLRLU

https://www.amazon.com/Nexus-70mm-Real-Silent-Case/dp/B003PNLRLU

https://youtu.be/BNTURMIhLZE

Smaller fans are generally louder because they need to spin faster to move air as fast as fans with larger fins